Clarence F. Veach, age 99, of Columbus died Saturday, February 6, 2016 at the Brookestone Acres in Columbus.

Clarence F. Veach was born August 15, 1916 on a farm near Bridgeport, Kansas to Fred and Lucy (Lusk) Veach. When he was about 10 years old, the family moved to Salina, Kansas where he continued his grade school and high school education and moved on to study electrical engineering at Kansas State College. In 1939 he went to work for Raymond H. Reed Engineering Co, of Abilene, Kansas. The firm later moved its Headquarters to Columbus, Nebraska and subsequently became Reed, Veach, Wurdeman & Associates. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Corps as an Aviation Cadet in 1942 and became a bombardier on a B17 Bomber of the 8th Air Force, flying out of England during WWII. He spent some time as a prisoner of war in Germany and returned to civilian life and work late in 1945. He married Valla Jean Kern and they had two sons, Richard and David. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign, Disabled American Veterans, American Legion, American Ex-Prisoners of War, National Society of Professional Engineers and the American Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. He was a member of Federated Church in Columbus. He was also a licensed airplane pilot and flew for business and pleasure until retiring in 1982. He was preceded in death by his parents, sister, Ruth Breidenthal and his wife Valla in 2009.